Lime and Coconut Lounge
by 6hIkaRi6
Summary: When friends go missing in a strange land of snow, secrets of a tragic past are unearthed, and the ghosts that still linger in a forest neighboring a shanty town are determined to fill up their guest book, and welcome the susceptible.
1. Ghosts

A soft breeze sighed through the dead trees. Snowflakes danced with the wind, falling steadily to the ground. Faint laughter could be heard echoing in the frozen forest.

A warm fire flickered, licking the logs thrown at it. Auburn leaves left behind from autumn blew in from a sudden gust of wind, landing around the fire. Footprints lay in the crisp snow, and, amidst the empty laughter with no origin, a violin could be heard, its strings being repeatedly broken, over and over and over again.

The wind howled and the laughter turned to screams and the fire began to spit embers at the dry trees, turning them into torches in the black night. The screaming persisted as shadowy figures began being emitted from the footprints on the ground.

_Elsewhere…_

"Hey, see that?" Sakura screeches over the howling wind, pointing towards the orange smudges in the distance.

"What? A banshee?" Naruto screams back at Sakura. Frowning, Sakura hits him over the head. "Owww… Sakura-chan! Why'd you do that for?" Naruto scrunched his face up, pouting, while attempting to look cute with his never ending runny nose.

"Because you're an idiot." Sasuke answered for Sakura, sending Naruto a mocking look.

"Stay out of this teme!" Naruto rammed his forehead against Sasuke's, leaving a red mark.

Slapping his hand to his brow, Sasuke gritted his teeth and grunted.

"Oh will you both just quit it and follow me. I think I can hear something." Sighing, Sakura marched ahead of the group, her footprints quickly being covered up by the constant onslaught of snow.

Getting closer to the blazing trees, the screaming became audible. Covering his ears, Sasuke ran in front of Sakura, activating his sharingan. The trio surveyed the area carefully, their feet rooted to the ground. Noticing a slightly abnormal chakra pattern, Sasuke walked ahead abruptly towards the clearing, pushing branches out of the way.

"Hey Sasuke, what are you doing?" Sakura questioned Sasuke's actions, only to be answered by silence. "Wait a minute; didn't I hear screaming just a moment ago?"

Reaching the clearing, Sasuke saw a small camp fire surrounded by shadows.

"…Oh my…." Sakura's voice was barely a whisper. Naruto ran in front of Sasuke and Sakura, running through most of the shadows at the same time. Turning around to see what had caused Sasuke's face to go so pale, Naruto's cerulean eyes spied the shadows emitting from footprints on the ground.

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke snaked around the shadows, the heads seemingly following his movements. Naruto then tried to tiptoe towards Sakura, only to freeze when the shadows began to fade, while laughing blew past team 7 with the wind.

As the fire slowly went out, Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other in astonishment.

Sasuke was the first to break the silence. "We can't forget about our mission just because of some freak of nature. Those shadows were probably just chakra imprints. Happens all the time. Right now we need to focus on finding team 8." Sasuke's voice was monotone, his face solemn.

Naruto's face turned grim, pinprick tears falling from his eyes. Sakura walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze while smiling at him warmly. "It's okay Naruto. We'll find Hinata." Her voice was filled with hope, but deep down, Sakura wasn't too sure if team 8 were even still in the land of snow, or anywhere near.

For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the cooing of owls and other nocturnal animals. Clearing his throat, Naruto spoke softly. "How about we find a place to stay for the night… I mean, we've been walking non-stop for two days now, and there's no way we would be able to last the night with this much snow." Sasuke smirked. "What's so funny teme?"

"Oh nothing! It's just that…. that's the smartest thing you've said ever since I returned to Konoha…" Sasuke chuckled lightly.

Naruto growled, but brushed it off, remembering his first date with Hinata.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ah man! This sucks… why does it have to rain today?" Naruto bawled, shaking Hinata by the shoulders.<em>

"_W-well, Naruto-kun, if I could, I would have stopped the rain, but I guess I can't…" Hinata trailed off, her quiet voice almost being left unheard by the shock blonde. Azure eyes looking at her in awe, Naruto jumped on her, holding her close. Hinata's face turned_ _a deep red. Seeing_ _this, Naruto just laughed._

_Leaning in ever so slightly, Naruto timidly pecked Hinata on the lips, only causing her to faint._

"_Wow… our first kiss and she faints… I love you!" Naruto sighed._

* * *

><p>When they had found an old village just outside the forest, they all struggled to find a place to re-supply, let alone a place to sleep.<p>

"This is hopeless! I mean, this village just seems so quiet and empty… I doubt anyone is even here…" Sakura whispered in an uneven tone.

"That's ridiculous! I just got ramen from over there!" Naruto spoke in between mouth full's, spluttering noodles on Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke grunted. "Hn yourself teme!" Naruto sneered. Rolling her eyes, Sakura split away from the group, trying to find a hotel on her own.

Wandering through the creaking ghost town, she saw a large neon sign ahead of her. Getting closer to read it, Sakura mouthed the green lettering, squinting so she wouldn't blind herself in the process.

"Lime and Coconut Lounge…. Hmm I wonder…."

"Sakura there you are! You shouldn't wander off like that! Sasuke was throwing a fit trying to find you." Sniggering, Naruto nudged Sasuke, obviously hinting Sasuke's little crush.

"Ah." Sasuke clenched his fists, struggling to stop himself from killing the blonde. Shaking his head, he diverted his gaze towards Sakura, then asked, "What is this place?" He pointed towards the tall rickety building.

"I think it's a hotel…" Sakura answered unsure.

"Lime and Coconut Lounge, huh? Well what are we waiting for? Let's get our asses in there!" Linking arms with his comrades, he dragged them into the building with him, unaware of the figure watching them in the shadows…

* * *

><p>AN: Well, as you guessed, this is a horror story. There be romance (naruhina and sasusaku) and the second chapter will only come out once I get chapter 5 of Succubus posted. Thanks for reading, please comment!


	2. Beings in the Shadows

A/N: Yay! Second chapter!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or its plot/characters.

* * *

><p>"Kiba-kun! We have to find a way out or they'll get Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun! We have to warn them-"Shino slapped Hinata, putting a stop to her ranting. Kiba looked between the two of them, dumbfounded.<p>

"Hinata, I know you care for Naruto, but right now panicking isn't helping! All we can do is hope Akamaru pulls through." Shino spoke monotonously, his aura calming Hinata down.

"What do you mean by Akamaru pulling through? It's not like he's gonna run off!" Kiba fumed at Shino. He frowned, grumbling something about why dogs were given the ability to speak. "What!"

Shino coughed. "Umm… what I meant was, Akamaru may not pull through due to the amount of injuries he sustained, and the fact he has not received any medical attention for almost two weeks now increases the possibility that… well…"

"Don't say it…. He will pull through…" Kiba's voice was harsh, coming out between his gritted teeth as a whisper. The three of them stopped speaking, barely even breathing. Hinata cast her lilac eyes away from the two boys and into the floating crystal in the centre of the never ending room, watching as Naruto and co walked into the hotel.

* * *

><p>Naruto and Sakura watched wide eyed as Sasuke took two room keys from the old bony women, her hands trembling under the weight of the keys. Her eyes were a piercing blue, her pupils a pinprick. The women's grey hair was tied back into a tight, unkempt bun. The fact that her hair was pulled back so tight meant that her eyebrows were permanently raised.<p>

As the trio walked away from the reception, Naruto nudged Sasuke as he looked around at the lounge, grimacing with every squelch that accompanied his steps. "How did you manage to bare that lady's smell! Not to mention the way she just stared at us and how her wrinkles were all pulled back and-"Naruto took a deep breath, massaging his cheeks from all the faces he pulled while talking. "And how can you bare such a gross place like this…?"

Sasuke grimaced, remembering the times he was travelling on his own before returning to Konoha, trying to clean up his record. "This place is vile, yes… but I'm… used to this…"

Sakura looked at the back of Sasuke's head. _He's never told us about the year he vanished before returning to Konoha… did he live like this? _

Sasuke noticed the concern in Sakura's eyes. He smirked at her, trying to reassure her. Sakura smiled back, but was unsure over whether or not it was one that was true.

Walking up the rickety, Sasuke handed Sakura her room key. At the top of the stairs the trio split up, the boys walking to their rooms while Sakura went to hers.

Naruto whistled to himself as he rammed the key into the key hole. Jiggling the door knob about, he pushed open the door. The sight that awaited him was quite ghastly indeed. "Huh… what the…. Oh my gosh this is too much I think I'm gonna be sick!" Naruto's face moulded into a look of disgust. He began to look slightly green as his cheeks started to bulge, some sort of liquid bursting out of his mouth.

Struck with panic, Sasuke franticly searched the rotten room for something for Naruto to throw up into. He opened the door to the bathroom, immediately slamming the door shut, his face pale. He finally found a black plastic waste basket. Though, it was too late.

"You threw up in the bed." Sasuke stood in front of Naruto, one hand on his hip and the other holding the waste basket. He slightly reminded Naruto of a typical house wife, scolding her pathetic excuse of a son. Not that Naruto was pathetic.

Naruto grinned, a noodle string stuck to the corner of his mouth. Sasuke grinned, a dark flash appearing in his eyes. The silence began to glue itself to the damp walls, sitting next to the moss. The stench of vomit lingered around the boys nostrils, smells nothing like what Naruto had eaten earlier.

Then Sasuke threw a punch at Naruto, the latter retaliating with a kick into the nether regions. Both of them wheezed.

* * *

><p>Sakura was sitting on a chocolate coloured fabric sofa. The wallpaper was a worn out cream, and quiet a lot of fights had most obviously taken place in the room due to the fact blood was splattered around the doorway to the bathroom and on various other spots in the room. The bed was a grey lump, cotton and springs sticking out of the sides. Its smell was also far from appealing.<p>

Inside the bathroom was filled with damp, black speckles all over the ceiling. The bath was also filled with black speckles, and the hot water didn't work, meaning that washing up after two days travelling was out of the question. Sakura got up off the sofa and went to find Naruto and Sasuke's room, to see if she could clean up there. When she found there room, raised a loose fist to knock on the door, only to find the door already open.

Opening it, Sakura was welcomed by the sight of Naruto and Sasuke trying to kill each other with chairs and broken table legs. Her face went blank. The both of them were acting like two year olds.

As Sakura stepped inside of the room, the foul stench of vomit slapped her. She noticed that the windows were covered in mildew and that moss hung off the corners of the ceiling. The room was almost bare, the only furniture now destroyed because of Naruto and Sasuke's rampage. There were two beds, one of them wearing clean sheets, while the other was dressed in vomit.

Casting her eyes towards the bathroom door, she saw more black speckles and moss surrounding the door. After she had soaked in the sights, she went green, though didn't throw up like Naruto. Instead, she took a deep breath, grabbed a chair leg and wacked the two boys over the head.

"Having fun are we?" Sakura raised an eyebrow as she placed both hands on her hips, still holding the chair leg, tapping her foot.

"Hah! I was wrong! Sakura most defiantly reminds me of a typical house wife!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke punched him in the shoulder.

"Baka…" He muttered, looking up at Sakura's fuming face.

Dropping the chair leg, she plunged her fist into Naruto's face. "Baka indeed!"

After the trio had their moments, they all got to work cleaning up the broken furniture. "So which one of you are gonna sleep in my room? I may not have a second bed, but there's a sofa. Pretty comfy too!" Sakura questioned casually. She no longer cared whether Sasuke shared a room with her or not. She still did harbour feelings for him, but she had finally decided that they would never get together, and that she should find someone else.

_Besides, Sasuke has never shared a room with me on a mission before, and it's unlikely he'll start now._

What was said next surprised all in the room.

"I'll share. Naruto has a girlfriend, who is one of the people we are looking for. It wouldn't be fair." Sasuke muttered. Both Naruto and Sakura gawked at him.

"But you _hate_ sharing rooms!" Naruto whined for some unknown reason.

"Correction; I hate sharing rooms with _you._" Sasuke remarked. Before anyone had a chance to further the conversation, Sasuke had already gathered his things and made his way to Sakura's room.

Shrugging, Sakura went after Sasuke, leaving Naruto alone with the rotting room and its shadows. As the wind began to howl, Naruto whimpered. "Mommy!"

Sasuke grabbed the extra blanket off of Sakura's bed and wrapped it around himself, lying down on the sofa. He heard Sakura walk in and shut the door. Sasuke remained silent, not wanting her to question his motives. He waited until her heard her get into bed.

Turning around, he watched Sakura's chest rise up and down. His eyes became soft, as he slowly began to forgive himself, bit by bit, for all the pain he had put her through. He rested his eyes upon her placid face, moonlight making her glow.

Smiling ever so slightly, Sasuke shut his eyes.

* * *

><p>Naruto rocked back and forth as the shadows shifted. Barely any light came in through the mildew covered windows. The wind rammed itself against the windows, causing Naruto to shriek. He then noticed a large shadow covering the broken table. He heard the floor boards creak. Sweat began to fall down his face as the shadow came closer and closer to him.<p>

Pulling his blanket closer towards him, he gulped down the taste of sick and fear. In a shaky voice he called out, "Who's there?"

A growl was his reply.

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><p>AN: *shiver* I felt as if... bugs were crawling all over me as I wrote the bits about the rooms... Hope you felt the same XD If so, then I have achieved my goal!


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